Funding for the U.S. Geological Survey is increasing by 6 percent to $1.1 billion in fiscal year 2018. Most of the increase is designated for facilities and natural hazards monitoring programs, while other major program areas, including climate research, receive about level funding.

The U.S. Geological Survey’s budget would drop by 21 percent to $860 million under the Trump administration’s proposal for fiscal year 2019. All topline research accounts would receive double-digit percentage cuts, although overall funding for energy and mineral resources programs would increase.

A recent Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee hearing highlighted the central role the U.S. Geological Survey plays in natural hazards monitoring. Experts also endorsed several pending bills that would expand early detection and mapping capabilities for earthquakes, volcanoes, and landslides.

The second Decadal Survey for Earth Science and Applications from Space, finalized in early January, calls on NASA's Earth Science Division to prioritize its missions based on a tiered program of target observations. It also provides recommendations for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and U.S. Geological Survey.

The Senate spending bill for the U.S. Geological Survey would maintain overall funding at current levels, while the House bill would decrease it by 4 percent. The chambers diverge on whether to adopt the administration’s proposed restructuring of the Climate and Land Use Change mission area, but they both generally support maintaining funding for geophysical research and monitoring near current levels.

President Trump’s fiscal year 2018 budget requests a 15 percent funding cut for the U.S. Geological Survey and proposes deep cuts for all mission areas except Energy and Mineral Resources. Climate research is slashed and restructured into a new Land Resources mission area.

The final appropriations law for fiscal year 2017 provides a 2.2 percent increase for the U.S. Geological Survey. Funding for Climate and Land Use Change is increasing 6.6 percent, but within that Climate Variability is decreasing by 6.5 percent. Natural Hazards is increasing 4.3 percent.

The House passed legislation that would make it easier and faster for mining companies to get approval from the federal government to develop minerals on federal lands, although opponents are concerned that the bill would undermine key environmental protections

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